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Product safety tests drop after tougher law enacted

This undated handout combo photo provided by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shows a side view, left, and overhead view of a Bumbo Baby Seat which are being recalled after nearly two dozen reports of infant skull fractures. The CPSC says babies can wiggle out of the floor seats. Photo: AP Photo/CPSC

OTTAWA—The number of product safety tests conducted by Health Canada plummeted after a new law was passed granting the government new powers to pull dangerous products from store shelves, newly released data show.

The department carried out 269 tests in their product-safety laboratories in 2011-12, down from 627 just two years earlier, representing a drop of 57 per cent. Inspections also appear to be down significantly, with 12,050 performed in 2009-10 compared to as few as 4,797 last year.

The average number of annual inspections conducted per inspector also appears to have dropped, from 121 to an estimated 60 in the same period.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, who tabled the information in the House of Commons in response to questions put to her by NDP consumer protection critic Glenn Thibeault, said the department’s new tracking system does not currently allow for counting the exact number of inspections. But she also explained that with the new law coming into force, “inspectors have focused on outreach to industry to raise awareness of their obligations under the Act.”

The government’s Consumer Product Safety Act, which passed Parliament in December 2010 and came into effect in June 2011, means Aglukkaq is now able to yank dangerous consumer products off store shelves without delay with new recall powers. Companies are also required to report serious incidents involving their consumer goods to Health Canada within two days of becoming aware of them.

In 2011-2012, industry reported 1,344 incidents under this new mandatory reporting system, according to statistics tabled in the House of Commons. Health Canada could not immediately say Wednesday how many of these incidents resulted in a product recall.

And since 2005, only two fines have been levied against companies for selling dangerous products as a result of thousands of inspections and product tests over the years, for a total monetary value of $8,500. A court conviction is required to levy a fine.

In an interview, Thibeault said he’s disappointed by the revelations.

“So here we’ve got this great Act, we worked hard getting into place to help protect consumers, and they’re doing less and less with it. That is quite sad when you think about what we were talking about at the time. We were talking about cadmium in kids’ toys,” said Thibeault.

“It’s not a big deterrent for those companies to have any reason to stop. The inspections are down, the tests that we’re carrying out are down and we rarely lay any fines. Canada has to do a better job at protecting our consumers and that’s what this bill was supposed to do.”

Under the old hazardous products law, there was no general prohibition against importing or selling a dangerous product, and Health Canada could only ask companies to recall unsafe products from the marketplace. It was ultimately the company’s call to remove products.

Industry was also not required to report serious incidents involving their consumer goods when they became aware of them and did not have to produce for Health Canada test results showing a product is safe and complies with Canadian safety regulations.

The new law, which does not cover prescription drugs, foods and natural health products, put Canada on par with regulators in the U.S. and Europe when it comes to consumer goods.

I've been a Senior Writer at Postmedia News (formerly Canwest News Service) since 2003. I used to cover education, and now I report on consumer affairs (since 2008). I'm based in Ottawa, but I've lived... read more in Victoria, Halifax, Montreal and Toronto (my hometown) for school and work. I didn't plan to become a journalist, but after grad school (to study history), I thought I might want to teach, so went to teacher's college. It was a dreary experience, so I got involved at the campus student paper to get through the school year. I came out of that experience with a third university degree and a job paying less than $10,000 as news editor of The Varsity at the University of Toronto. That was in 1997. I've been writing for a living ever since.View author's profile